Westlake wrestler has his sights set on state

Relentless

Amir Hassan, a junior at Westlake High School, faces off against Newbury Park High's Max Quiroz in the 138 pound weight class during a wrestling meet between the two schools on Thursday.

Ventura County Star

The first time Westlake High wrestling coach John Cuccia saw Amir Hassan on the mat, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"He was the least athletic person in the room," Cuccia said. "It was almost funny.

"But from that day, with his commitment, work ethic and love for the sport, he has become a role model for every wrestler in our program."

Over the last two years, Hassan has put in countless hours honing his wrestling skills. His relentless pursuit of improvement has allowed Hassan to become one of the top 138-pound wrestlers in the Marmonte League.

"I have had a few more losses than I would have liked," Hassan said. "But I feel like I have been improving as the season goes on.

"As I get more match time and more practice time, I feel like I am getting better. I think I am peaking at right time."

Hassan gets a chance to verify that belief this weekend when he competes in the Marmonte League championships. The league meet is the first step toward Hassan's ultimate goal of trying to be the first Westlake wrestler to qualify for the CIF State Wrestling Tournament.

His pursuit of that goal started from almost the minute his sophomore season ended at the CIF-Southern Section tournament where he failed to place.

He started lifting weights five days a week to strengthen his legs and core. He combined that with daily practice sessions on the wrestling mat, where he pushed himself to perfect areas of his game that he felt were lacking.

The daily workouts allowed Hassan to not only fine-tune his techniques, but to also increase his intensity level on the mat.

"I push myself as hard as I can because I know it's the only way to ensure I will improve each day," Hassan said. "When I don't go hard enough or feel like I got better that day, I remind myself of the disappointment I felt before the next workout.

"I hate that feeling of knowing that I didn't get better and it forces me to go harder. The coaches remind us that even on the days when we're not here, we need to try and keep working."

Hassan's willingness to push himself in the wrestling room is made even more amazing by the fact that he pushes himself equally as hard in the classroom.

The junior has seven advanced placement and honors classes this semester and carries a 4.7 grade point average in them.

He's up by 6 a.m. every day so he can be at school by 7 for his first class. He has classes until 3 p.m., then heads to the wrestling room for his nearly three-hour workout. When he gets home he eats dinner and showers, then starts his daily homework which generally doesn't get done until after midnight.

"I had no idea about his schedule until I overheard him talking about it one day," Cuccia said. "He's never asked to leave practice early or to skip one in order to study. His determination to succeed in whatever he's doing impresses everyone."

Everyone but Hassan himself, When you ask how he manages to find the time to excel both academically and athletically, his answer is it's no big deal.

"I think everyone should push themselves to try and do as much as they can," Hassan said. "It seems pointless to just focus on just one aspect of your life.

"My goal is to have as high a GPA as the kids who don't compete in athletics. And when it come to wrestling, I compare myself to guys who don't push themselves as much in the classroom and focus only on wrestling."

Hassan said it was around the fifth grade when he really started taking his studies seriously. His interest in athletics didn't come until several years later. Growing up, the closest thing he did to a sport was video games.

He got involved with wrestling when some of his friends from eighth grade decided to try out for the team and encouraged him to join them. Ironically, all of those friends ended up leaving the sport pretty quickly. But while he wasn't very talented, Hassan said nearly from the start, the sport hooked him.

"I liked the intensity and physical rigors of it," Hassan said. "I like the fact that it's just you and your opponent and whether you win or lose, it's all up to you. It's all about who is better prepared and who wants it more.

"You wrestle for as long as it takes and when you're in a close match and you're the one who gets his hand raised, all the hard work and sacrifice is worth it."

Sadly, while most parents would be thrilled to have a child who excels both academically and athletically, that's not true for Hassan. He said his parents see no value in him being involved in wrestling and would rather he was home spending more time studying.

"They don't get that I can go to practice every day and still get good grades," Hassan said. "It's disappointing that they feel that way, but it keeps me going. It gives me more reason to push hard and excel."

Hassan is close with his teammates and coaches. Over the last few years he and assistant coach John Orsay have forged a strong bond. When Hassan first joined the team and needed extra help to improve, it was Orsay who was there to give him the instruction he needed.

"Our coaches are great," Hassan said. "They knew we needed more experience with two-day tournaments so they took us to a lot more of those this year so we would be better prepared for the CIF and the Masters. I know I would not be anywhere near where I am without the help of my coaches."

Cuccia said Hassan not only takes coaching well, he actually seeks it out. Right after every match, he asks the coaches to critique his performance and tell him what they saw, both good and bad.

"He's very open to whatever we say, both positive and negative," Cuccia said. "Not many guys are willing to have you do that. It's helped him improve and really understand his strengths and weaknesses a lot better."

As bad as he was when he started, Hassan actually qualified for the CIF tournament as a freshman, mainly because he accidently injured his competitor's knee at the league meet, forcing him to withdraw.

Hassan said his teammates still give him grief about that, but the experience did help him grow as a wrestler. He made it to the second day of the CIF tournament last year, but failed to place and advance to the Masters Meet.

He's convinced he'll do that, and also place at the Masters, mostly because he said you have to believe you will succeed.

"I really want to be the first wrestler from Westlake to get there," Hassan said. "If I don't do it this year, I know I will as a senior. I have to believe that I will reach those goals. That dream of winning allows me to keep pushing, even when reason tells you otherwise. I just think about how badly I want it."

Cuccia and the other coaches are equally positive about his chances. And why not after seeing how far he's come?

"As coaches it's natural to rule kids out, but guys like Amir show us we have to keep an open mind," Cuccia said. "That's because that piece of coal that you're handed might just turn into a diamond. That is certainly the case with Amir."